Walking through the halls with her bright hair and unique earrings, Ms. Hirsch stands out from the rest without difficulty. With her arrival to Grandview this year, she paints her mark on the art department as a new teacher this year.

“I’ve been doing art since as long as I can remember,” Hirsch said. “I went to school for art and I’ve taught art in a bunch of different settings.”

Hirsch has had a passion for art since she was a little girl watching cartoons and replicating the art style and story. Specifically, her love for art stems from 1990s-2000 cartoons such as Avatar: The Last Airbender. Hirsch’s passion for art brought her to teach in multiple mediums to multiple ages, not just high schoolers.   

“I’ve been to a couple high schools, middle schools and elementary schools,” Hirsch said. “I’ve seen all sorts of walks of life I taught as a painting instructor at a Painting With a Twist for a couple years.”

Even though Hirsch has mostly benefited from Grandview so far, she’s had difficulties when it came to teaching at a brand new school. 

“It’s overwhelming,” Hirsch said. “There’s just a lot that goes into your first year teaching- a lot of preparation [and] figuring out the pacing of things.”

Even though Hirsch is still figuring out her way in Grandview, she has a clear goal. Throughout her teaching career, Hirsch has especially enjoyed the way that she interacts with her students and how she creates relationships with them. 

“It’s cool to be able to make connections with people who may or may not have seen themselves in an art setting before,” Hirsch said “Whether that’s because they just need the credit, or they’re actually there because they enjoy art.”

Although Hirsch wants her students to be comfortable within her class, she still holds some expectations for her students in terms of the skills they gain from taking Drawing and Painting and Graphic Design.  

“I would say that I’m looking for a lot of growth in students, whether that’s their artistic growth or just their problem solving growth. I’m really interested in seeing how people can speak.” 

At Grandview, art is displayed constantly through the school. Whether it is murals, chalk, water colors, or graphic designs- great art is supported and shown. This is something that stuck out to Hirsch that was specific to Grandview.

“It’s really spectacular honestly as far as how open the Grandview is to and welcoming to the arts compared to a lot of other schools that I’ve been at,” Hirsch said “I mean, there’s art everywhere. It’s plastered in the hallways. It’s in the bookcases.”

Hirsch’s long time goal for her time teaching at this school is to positively influence her students.

“I want to give people as many opportunities as possible in the art world,” Hirsch said. “Whether that’s again, graphic design, draw paint, whatever it might be.”